Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Federal Employees'
Compensation Act File.
:
Most files and data are unclassified. Files and data in certain cases
have Top Secret classification, but the rules concerning their maintenance and
disclosure are determined by the agency, which has given the information the
security classification of Top Secret.
The central database for DOL/GOVT-1 is located at SUNGUARD, 600 Laurel
Oak Road, Voorhees, New Jersey, 08043. Paper claim files and local databases
are located at the various OWCP district offices, and in Kansas City (for
imaged cases only); claim files of employees of the Central Intelligence Agency
are located at that agency. Records from this system of records may be
temporarily located in the office of health care providers and other
individuals or entities with whom the Department contracts for such services as
examination or evaluation of claimants. Copies of claim forms and other
documents arising out of a job-related injury that resulted in the filing of a
claim under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), may also be
maintained by the employing agency (and where the forms were transmitted to the
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) electronically, the original
forms are maintained by the employing agency). In addition, records relating to
third-party claims of FECA beneficiaries are maintained in the Division of
Employee Benefits, Office of the Solicitor, United States Department of Labor,
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210-0002, in the offices of the
Regional and Associate Regional Solicitors, and in various offices of the
United States Postal Service, which undertakes various duties relating to third
party claims pursuant to an agreement with OWCP.
Pursuant to the Department of Labor's Flexiplace Programs, copies of
records may be temporarily located at alternative worksites, including
employees' homes or at geographically convenient satellite offices for part of
the workweek. All appropriate safeguards will be taken at these sites.
Individuals and/or their survivors who file claims seeking benefits
under the FECA by reason of injuries sustained while in the performance of
duty. The FECA applies to all civilian federal employees, including various
classes of persons who provide or have provided personal service to the
government of the United States, and to other persons as defined by law such as
state or local law enforcement officers, and their survivors, who were injured
or killed while assisting in the enforcement of federal law. In addition, the
FECA covers employees of the Civil Air Patrol, Peace Corps Volunteers, Job
Corps students, Volunteers in Service to America, members of the National
Teacher Corps, certain student employees, members of the Reserve Officers
Training Corps, certain former prisoners of war, and employees of particular
commissions and other agencies.
This system may contain the following kinds of records:
reports of injury by the employee and/or employing agency; claim forms
filed by or on behalf of injured federal employees or their survivors seeking
benefits under the FECA; forms authorizing medical care and treatment; other
medical records and reports; bills and other payment records; compensation
payment records; formal orders for or against the payment of benefits;
transcripts of hearings conducted; and any other medical, employment, or
personal information submitted or gathered in connection with the claim. The
system may also contain information relating to dates of birth, marriage,
divorce, and death; notes of telephone conversations conducted in connection
with the claim; information relating to vocational and/or medical
rehabilitation plans and progress reports; records relating to court
proceedings, insurance, banking and employment; articles from newspapers and
other publications; information relating to other benefits (financial and
otherwise) the claimant may be entitled to; and information received from
various investigative agencies concerning possible violations of Federal civil
or criminal law.
The system may also contain consumer credit reports on individuals
indebted to the United States, information relating to the debtor's assets,
liabilities, income and expenses, personal financial statements, correspondence
to and from the debtor, information relating to the location of the debtor, and
other records and reports relating to the implementation of the Federal Claims
Collection Act (as amended), including investigative reports or administrative
review matters. Individual records listed here are included in a claim file
only insofar as they may be pertinent or applicable to the employee or
beneficiary.
5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq., 20 CFR 1.1 et seq.
The FECA establishes the system for processing and adjudicating claims
that federal employees and other covered individuals file with the Department
of Labor's OWCP, seeking monetary, medical and similar benefits for injuries or
deaths sustained while in the performance of duty. The records maintained in
this system are created as a result of and are necessary to this process. The
records provide information and verification about the individual's
employment-related injury and the resulting disabilities and/or impairments, if
any, on which decisions awarding or denying benefits provided under the FECA
must be based.
In addition to those Department-wide routine uses set forth above in
the General Prefatory Statement to this document, disclosure of information
from this system of records may be made to the following individuals and
entities for the purposes noted when the purpose of the disclosure is both
relevant and necessary and is compatible with the purpose for which the
information was collected:
a. To any attorney or other representative of a FECA beneficiary for the
purpose of assisting in a claim or litigation against a third party or parties
potentially liable to pay damages as a result of the FECA beneficiary's
FECA-covered injury and for the purpose of administering the provisions of
§§ 8131-8132 of the FECA. Any such third party, or a representative
acting on that third party's behalf, may be provided information or documents
concerning the existence of a record and the amount and nature of compensation
paid to or on behalf of the FECA beneficiary for the purpose of assisting in
the resolution of the claim or litigation against that party or administering
the provisions of §§ 8131-8132 of the FECA.
b. To federal agencies that employed the claimant at the time of the
occurrence or recurrence of the injury or occupational illness in order to
verify billing, to assist in administering the FECA, to answer questions about
the status of the claim, to consider rehire, retention or other actions the
agency may be required to take with regard to the claim or to permit the agency
to evaluate its safety and health program. Disclosure to federal agencies,
including the Department of Justice, may be made where OWCP determines that
such disclosure is relevant and necessary for the purpose of providing
assistance in regard to asserting a defense based upon the FECA's exclusive
remedy provision to an administrative claim or to litigation filed under the
Federal Tort Claims Act.
c. To other federal agencies, other government or private entities and
to private-sector employers as part of rehabilitation and other return-to-work
programs and services available through OWCP, where the entity is considering
hiring the claimant or where otherwise necessary as part of that return-to-work
effort.
d. To federal, state or private rehabilitation agencies and individuals
to whom the claimant has been referred for evaluation of rehabilitation and
possible reemployment.
e. To physicians, pharmacies, and other health care providers for their
use in treating the claimant, in conducting an examination or preparing an
evaluation on behalf of OWCP and for other purposes relating to the medical
management of the claim, including evaluation of and payment for charges for
medical and related services and supplies.
f. To medical insurance or health and welfare plans (or their designees)
that cover the claimant in instances where OWCP had paid for treatment of a
medical condition that is not compensable under the FECA, or where a medical
insurance plan or health and welfare plan has paid for treatment of a medical
condition that may be compensable under the FECA, for the purpose of resolving
the appropriate source of payment in such circumstances.
g. To labor unions and other voluntary employee associations from whom
the claimant has requested assistance for the purpose of providing such
assistance to the claimant.
h. To a federal, state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining
information relevant to a determination concerning initial or continuing
eligibility for FECA benefits, and for a determination concerning whether
benefits have been or are being properly paid, including whether dual benefits
that are prohibited under any applicable federal or state statute are being
paid; and for the purpose of utilizing salary offset and debt collection
procedures, including those actions required by the Debt Collection Act of
1982, to collect debts arising as a result of overpayments of FECA compensation
and debts otherwise related to the payment of FECA benefits.
i. To the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the purpose of obtaining
taxpayer mailing addresses for the purposes of locating a taxpayer to collect,
compromise, or write-off a federal claim against such taxpayer; and informing
the IRS of the discharge of a debt owed by an individual. Records from this
system of records may be disclosed to the IRS for the purpose of offsetting a
federal claim from any income tax refund that may be due to the debtor.
j. To the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the
purpose of using injury reports filed by Federal agencies pursuant to the FECA
to fulfill agency injury reporting requirements. Information in this system of
records may be disclosed to OSHA by employing agencies as part of any MIS
system established under OSHA regulations to monitor health and safety.
k. To contractors providing services to DOL or any other federal agency
or any other individual or entity specified in any of these routine uses or in
the Department's General Prefatory Statement who require the data to perform
the services that they have contracted to perform, provided that those services
are consistent with the routine use for which the information was disclosed to
the contracting entity. Should such a disclosure be made to the contractor, the
individual or entity making such disclosure shall insure that the contractor
complies fully with all Privacy Act provisions, including those prohibiting
unlawful disclosure of such information.
l. To the Defense Manpower Data Center - Department of Defense and the
United States Postal Service to conduct computer matching programs for the
purpose of identifying and locating individuals who are receiving Federal
salaries or benefit payments and are delinquent in their repayment of debts
owed to the United States under programs administered by the DOL in order to
collect the debts under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub.
L. 97-365) by voluntary repayment, or by salary or administrative offset
procedures.
m. To a credit bureau for the purpose of obtaining consumer credit
reports identifying the assets, liabilities, expenses, and income of a debtor
in order to ascertain the debtor's ability to repay a debt incurred under the
FECA, to collect the debt, or to establish a payment schedule.
n. To consumer reporting agencies as defined by section 603(f) of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or in accordance with section 3
(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 as amended (31
U.S.C. 3711(f)) for the purpose of encouraging the repayment of an overdue
debt, the amount, status and history of overdue debts, the name and address,
taxpayer identification (SSN), and other information necessary to establish the
identity of a debtor, the agency and program under which the claim arose, may
be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (b)(12)
o. To a Member of Congress or to a Congressional staff member in
response to an inquiry made by an individual seeking assistance who is the
subject of the record being disclosed for the purpose of providing such
assistance.
p. To individuals, and their attorneys and other representatives, and
government agencies, seeking to enforce a legal obligation on behalf of such
individual or agency, to pay alimony and/or child support for the purpose of
enforcing such an obligation, pursuant to an order of a state or local court of
competent jurisdiction, including Indian tribal courts, within any State,
territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia or to
an order of a State agency authorized to issue income withholding notices
pursuant to State or local law or pursuant to the requirements of section
666(b) of title 42, United States Code, or for the purpose of denying the
existence of funds subject to such legal obligation.
Disclosure of information contained
in this system of records to the subject of the record, a person who is duly
authorized to act on his or her behalf, or to others to whom disclosure is
authorized by these routine uses, may be made over the telephone or by
electronic means. Disclosure over the telephone or by electronic means will
only be done where the requestor provides appropriate identifying information.
Telephonic or electronic disclosure of information is essential to permit
efficient administration and adjudication of claims under the FECA. Pursuant to
5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(1), information from this system of records may be
disclosed to members and staff of the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board,
the Office of Administrative Law Judges, the Office of the Solicitor and other
components of the Department who have a need for the record in the performance
of their duties.
The amount, status and history of overdue debts, the name and address,
taxpayer identification (SSAN), and other information necessary to establish
the identity of a debtor, the agency and program under which the claim arose,
may be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) to consumer reporting
agencies as defined by section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or in accordance with section 3(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal
Claims Collection Act of 1966 as amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(f)) for the purpose of
encouraging the repayment of an overdue debt.
Paper case files are maintained in manual files, while security case
files are in locked cabinets. Automated data, including case files that have
been transformed into electronic form, are stored in computer discs or magnetic
tapes, which are stored in cabinets. Microfiche is stored in cabinets.
Files and automated data are retrieved after identification by coded
file number and/or Social Security Number which is cross-referenced to employee
by name, employing establishment, and date and nature of injury. Since the
electronic case management files were created in 1975, these electronic files
are located in District Offices which have jurisdiction over the claim, and (as
noted above under "system location"), a complete central data base is
maintained at the location of the contractor. Prior to 1975, a paper index file
was maintained; these records were transferred to microfiche and are located in
the national office.
Files and automated data are maintained under supervision of OWCP
personnel during normal working hours - only authorized personnel, with the
appropriate password, may handle, retrieve, or disclose any information
contained therein. Only personnel having an appropriate security clearance may
handle or process security files. After normal working hours, security files
are kept in locked cabinets. Access to electronic records is controlled by
password or other user identification code.
All case files and automated data pertaining to a claim are destroyed
15 years after the case file has become inactive. Case files that have been
scanned to create electronic copies are destroyed after the copies are
verified. Automated data is retained in its most current form only, however,
and as information is updated, outdated information is deleted. Some related
financial records are retained only in electronic form, and destroyed 6 years
and 3 months after creation or receipt.
Director for Federal Employees' Compensation, Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-3229, Washington, DC
20210-0002.
An individual wishing to inquire whether this system of records
contains information about him/her may write or telephone the OWCP district
office that services the state in which the individual resided or worked at the
time he or she believes a claim was filed. In order for the record to be
located, the individual must provide his or her full name, OWCP claim number
(if known), date of injury (if known), and date of birth.
Any individual seeking access to non-exempt information about a case in
which he/she is a party in interest may write or telephone the OWCP district
office where the case is located, or the systems manager, and arrangements will
be made to provide review of the file. Access to copies of documents maintained
by the employing agency may be secured by contacting that agency's designated
disclosure officials.
Specific materials in this system have been exempted from certain
Privacy Act provisions regarding the amendment of records. The section of this
notice entitled "Systems Exempted From Certain Provisions of the Act,"
indicates the kind of materials exempted, and the reasons for exempting them.
Any individual requesting amendment of non-exempt records should contact the
appropriate OWCP district office, or the system manager. Individuals requesting
amendment of records must comply with the Department's Privacy Act regulations
at 29 CFR 71.1 and 71.9, and with the regulations found at 20 CFR 10.12
(1999).
Injured employees; beneficiaries; employing Federal agencies; other
Federal agencies; physicians; hospitals; clinics; suppliers of health care
products and services and their agents and representatives; educational
institutions; attorneys; Members of Congress; OWCP field investigations; State
governments; consumer credit reports; agency investigative reports;
correspondence with the debtor including personal financial statements; records
relating to hearings on the debt; and other DOL systems of records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), investigative material in this
system of records compiled for law enforcement purposes is exempt from
subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f) of 5 U.S.C.
552a, provided, however, that if any individual is denied any right, privilege,
or benefit that he or she would otherwise be entitled to by Federal law, or for
which he or she would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the maintenance of
these records, such material shall be provided to the individual, except to the
extent that the disclosure of the material would reveal the identity of a
source who furnished information to the Government under an express promise
that the identity of the source would be held in confidence, or prior to
January 1, 1975, under an implied promise that the identity of the source would
be held in confidence.
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